Mr Piper Seneca doing steep turns above my house at 1000ft!
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Steady on chaps!
If you really want to nail someone for low flying, you'll need something more reliable than " I think it was 1000ft, 500 - 900ft".
I've been in aviation (ATC) for 25 years now and I still find it very difficult to estimate the height of a moving aircraft.
I agree that low flying outside the confines of airshows and taking off/landing is irresponsible and invites unwarrented risk, but if it ever comes to court action you'll need solid evidence, preferably from a video camera which will give some perspective against surrounding terrain.
The idiots who fly in this manner will usually laugh in your face until you confront them with such pictures.
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It wasn't me.
If you really want to nail someone for low flying, you'll need something more reliable than " I think it was 1000ft, 500 - 900ft".
I've been in aviation (ATC) for 25 years now and I still find it very difficult to estimate the height of a moving aircraft.
I agree that low flying outside the confines of airshows and taking off/landing is irresponsible and invites unwarrented risk, but if it ever comes to court action you'll need solid evidence, preferably from a video camera which will give some perspective against surrounding terrain.
The idiots who fly in this manner will usually laugh in your face until you confront them with such pictures.
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It wasn't me.
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May have been on a photographic flight, survey or mapping flight, Flying Eye traffic report, who knows?? Lets not nail him (or her) to the wall quite yet chaps.... Aircraft are sometimes flown lower than the legal height minimums for good reason..
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Chaps, you're absolutely right about the difficulty of judging the height of a moving aircraft from the ground; it's hard enough from the air sometimes! My only real concern is that if the pilot's skills at steep turns (very impressive, actually) weren't matched by his ability to control the aircraft if an engine failed then *I* was the one likely to be in trouble, not him.
Never having flown a Seneca, or indeed anything with quite that many engines, I have only a vague idea of what's likely to happen if an engine drops out while in a 60 degree bank at (say) 1000'. Would anybody with more experience care to comment on whether this would be a big deal or not?
-C
Never having flown a Seneca, or indeed anything with quite that many engines, I have only a vague idea of what's likely to happen if an engine drops out while in a 60 degree bank at (say) 1000'. Would anybody with more experience care to comment on whether this would be a big deal or not?
-C
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The Capital Flying Eye is a dark blue Cougar, but the reserve a/c is white with a grey/red design. Don't think the reserve one was up on the day you are talking about.
The Seneca out of Stapleford (for stations other than Capital) is usually white with blue stripes.
The debate about SVFR is a little incorrect. It is quite possibe that the a/c came from the LL CTR (where SVFR is the only option) into the LC CTR without the clearance being downgraded. Therefore he would be legal to disregard the 1000 ft above obstacle clearance rule provided he didn't break the 500 ft rule.
But my earlier post refers: beware of judging heights when viewed from the ground. 1000 ft is only 330 yards. Go and stand 330 yards from an aircraft and you will be surprised how big it looks.
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"Take-off is optional, Landing is mandatory"
The Seneca out of Stapleford (for stations other than Capital) is usually white with blue stripes.
The debate about SVFR is a little incorrect. It is quite possibe that the a/c came from the LL CTR (where SVFR is the only option) into the LC CTR without the clearance being downgraded. Therefore he would be legal to disregard the 1000 ft above obstacle clearance rule provided he didn't break the 500 ft rule.
But my earlier post refers: beware of judging heights when viewed from the ground. 1000 ft is only 330 yards. Go and stand 330 yards from an aircraft and you will be surprised how big it looks.
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"Take-off is optional, Landing is mandatory"